Srinagar, Feb 15 (UNI) Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said the two key allies of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, are on board over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was tabled in Parliament on February 13 amid uproar from the Opposition.
Rijiju said that a fake narrative was being spread on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
“…When we presented the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Parliament, our intention was very clear, and we also told the Parliament that the sole objective of the bill was to safeguard the Waqf properties in India, which were the largest in the world,” the Union Minister said while addressing a press conference in Srinagar.
“If someone is begging even though Waqf had crores of rupees worth of properties, it is a matter of regret. That is why we have made it very clear in the Waqf Bill that there is no question of taking away the property from the Muslims and giving it to someone else,” Rijiju said.
He said the country is run by law and no one can take away someone else’s property.
The Union Minister said the Bill will bring transparency.
He claimed that thousands of Muslims, including women, have met him and praised the Bill.
“A lot of propaganda is being spread about the Bill. Even many opposition Muslim MPs who support the Bill protest because of party compulsions,” he said.
The Minister, however, refused to name the opposition Muslim MPs who termed the bill a great work.
When asked if Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (Union), and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, head of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), support the bill, the minister said all are on board with the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Various opposition leaders have reached out to Naidu and Kumar seeking their intervention to oppose the Waqf Amendment.
On the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir Rijiju declined to give any timeline.
“The Prime Minister and the Home Minister have in the past made it clear that in due course of time, Statehood will be restored,” he said adding he would not like to comment on the timeline of Statehood restoration as his visit to Kashmir was purely related to the Union Budget.
Rijiju said J&K will witness robust development under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi.
